System, smart device and method for apportioning device operations and costs

ABSTRACT

A system, smart device and method for apportioning costs of smart device operations between purposes. Operation information concerning operations performed by the smart device is recorded. The operations are apportioned between purposes based on categorization information and the operation information. The cost of the apportioned operations performed by the device is determined for the purposes based on the operation information and tariff information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No.15/989,570, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 10,440,190, which is acontinuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/906,723, whichis now U.S. Pat. No. 10,069,978, filed on Jan. 21, 2016, which is aNational Stage Entry of International Application No. PCT/CA2014/050686,filed on Jul. 21, 2014, which is a non-provisional application of U.S.61/856,720 titled MOBILE COST MANAGEMENT (MCM) SOLUTION, PROCESS,METHOD, SYSTEM, APP, DEVICE AND/OR COMMPUTER READIBLE MEDIUM filed onJul. 21, 2013. This application claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61,856,720 filed on Jul. 21, 2013, InternationalApplication No. PCT/CA2014/050686 filed on Jul. 21, 2014 and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/906,723, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 10,069,978,filed on Jan. 21, 2016, which are all herein incorporated by referencein their entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of computingdevices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates toapportioning operations and associated costs of computing devices.

BACKGROUND

Computing devices, such as mobile smart phones, send and receivecommunication signals through various channels. Those channels mayinclude, for example WiFi networks, Ethernet networks, and cellularnetworks. With respect to a cellular network, computing devices maycommunicate via various channels of communication including data, voice,and text messages over the simple messaging service (SMS) or multimediamessage service (MMS). A carrier or network operator provides channelsof communication and charges a fee according to the amount of usage of aselected channel of communication in a period. For example, a carriermay charge a fee based on the amount of data (measured in bytes ormegabytes) sent and received, the duration of a phone call in minutes orseconds, and the total number of texts sent and/or received.

A computing device typically has a plan or tariff associated therewithwhich is an agreement with the carrier or network operator regarding theamount the carrier will charge for the consumption of any of data,voice, and text by the computing device or a group of computing devices.For example, a tariff may permit an unlimited number of local eveningand weekend voice call minutes, a limited number of local day time voicecall minutes, a limited number of long distance voice call minutes, alimited number of text messages, and a certain amount of data in a monthfor a fixed fee. If the computing device consumes more than the maximumamount of minutes, text messages, or data, then the carrier may chargeadditional fees or an overage fee in accordance with the tariff.

An increasing number of individuals are each using only one computingdevice for both work and personal purposes. An individual may own thedevice and have a contract with a carrier or network operator for thecommunication of data, voice and text. Alternatively, an employer mayown the device and have the contract with the carrier but provide thedevice to their employee.

There are a number of benefits associated with using only one device forboth work and personal purposes. It may be difficult, however, toapportion the costs of device operations such as data traffic, textmessages, and voice call minutes, between work purposes and personalpurposes. Accordingly, it is desirable to have an easy method ofcalculating the costs results from the operations performed by acomputing device so that an employee can be appropriately reimbursed bytheir employer for operation of an employee device for work purposes; anemployer can appropriately bill an employee for operation of anemployer's device for personal purposes, and a contractor can identifythe amount of carrier charges it can expense for the purpose ofcalculating business income.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system, smart device and method for apportioning costs of smart deviceoperations between purposes is described. An application on a smartdevice records operation information concerning operations performed bythe smart device. An operation may comprise, for example, placing acellular voice call (also referred to as a cellular voice calloperation) and the corresponding operation information may comprise, forexample, the duration of the voice call and the telephone number towhich the call was placed. Operations are performed for one or morepurposes such as a personal purpose and a work purpose. Each operationhas an associated monetary cost that is described, in general terms, bya tariff. An operation is apportioned to a selected purpose and may bedone so based on categorization information such as the telephone numberof a contact designated as relating to a work purpose and the operationinformation. The categorization information may be provided by a user,or may be obtained from a personal cloud such as the FACEBOOK™ server,or an enterprise information technology environment system or serversuch as a customer relationship manager server. The source of thecategorization information may be used to designate contact informationas relating to a particular purpose and may be used to apportion anoperation to a particular purpose. The cost of the apportionedoperations is determined for one or more purposes based on the operationinformation and tariff information. The application on the smart device,or a separate application running on a computer, may apportion operationinformation to purposes, obtain categorization information, anddetermine the cost of the operations for each purpose.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a system for apportioning smart deviceoperations between purposes in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a method for calculating smart deviceoperations costs in accordance with another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the metering and tariffing application asshown in FIG. 1 in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for apportioning costs of apurchase made with a smart device as shown in FIG. 1 between purposes inaccordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a system 100 for apportioning operations of asmart device 102 between purposes in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The smart device 102 may be any computerizeddevice which can be programmed such as, for example, a mobile phone, atablet, a personal computer, a smart television, a router, or anysimilar electronic device. The smart device 102 comprises a memory 104and a computer processing unit (CPU) 106. The memory contains amonitoring application 108 which is executed by the CPU 106. The smartdevice 102 can access a network operator (also referred to as a carrier)110 through various connection types such as, for example, a wirelesscellular connection using the Global System for Mobile Communication(GSM) standard or any other similar standard, a wired connection, a WiFiconnection, and a Bluetooth connection. The network operator 120connects the smart device 102 to the internet 122 so as to permit dataor information to pass between the smart device 102 and the internet122. The network operator 120 also connects the smart device 102 toother devices 124 to permit information in the form of text messages andvoice calls, to pass therebetween. The monitoring application 108collects or records information concerning one or more operationsperformed by the smart device 102 as operation information. Operationsmay comprise, for example, placing or receiving cellular voice calls,sending or receiving text messages, browsing an internet webpage,sending or receiving an email, etc. An operation is an activity or eventperformed by the smart device 102 and operation information isinformation relating to the event. For example, the with respect to anoutgoing cellular voice call operation, the monitoring application mayrecord the telephone number and duration of the call. The operationsbeing recorded may have a monetary cost.

The system 100 also comprises a computer 110 which may be incommunication with, or part of, a backend information technology systemor a cloud server environment such as AMAZON WEB SERVICES™. The computer110 is also in communication with the smart device 102. The computer 110and smart device 102 may communicate directly with one another through alocal area network (LAN), or through the internet 122 via the smartdevice's 102 data connection with the network operator 120. The computer110 comprises a memory 112 and a CPU 114. The memory 112 comprises ametering and tariffing application 118 which is executed by the CPU 114.The metering and tariffing application 118 exchanges information with,among other things, the monitoring application 108.

The computer 110 may be in communication with a storage environment 116.The storage environment 116 may be used for storing informationreceived, collected, or generated by the metering and tariffingapplication 118. In an embodiment, the network operator 120 may passdata traffic through a proxy server or gateway server prior to the databeing communicated to or received from the internet by the smart device102. In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, thecomputer may be the smart device 102, and the functionality of themetering and tariffing application 118 may be within the monitoringapplication 108 on the smart device 102.

The metering and tariffing application 118 may be in communication withan enterprise information technology (IT) environment 126 and a personalcloud 144. The metering and tariffing application 118 collects orreceives categorization information from one or more of the enterpriseIT environment 126, the personal cloud 144, the smart device's 102 user,and other information provisioned or provided manually by any person, tohelp determine or apportion the operations of the smart device 102between one or more purposes. Apportioning an operation to a purposemeans categorizing, classifying, or identifying the operation asrelating to a particular purpose or reason for which the operation wasperformed. This may involve, for example, supplementing the operationinformation with a description or identifier of the purpose. The termpurposes refer to the reason for which a user of the smart device 102caused, directly or indirectly, the smart device 102 to perform anoperation. The user may cause the smart device to perform an operationfor, for example, a work purpose or a personal purpose. An operationperformed for a work purpose may be an action taken by the smart devicewhich furthers the business of the user of the smart device. The actionmay relate to the user's job description within their organization.

The enterprise IT environment 126 may comprise, for example, a singlecomputer running an application, or may comprise many servers located inan enterprise environment across a wide area, each server runningmultiple applications. The enterprise IT environment 126 may compriselightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) servers 128 such asMICROSOFT ACTIVE DIRECTOR™, client relationship management (CRM) servers130, telephony & unified communication systems 132, electronic mail(email) systems 134 such as MICROSOFT EXCHANGE SERVER™ andOUTLOOK™/LOTUS NOTES™, payroll and expense management systems 136,employee benefit systems 138, smart device security systems 140,enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems 142, and other informationtechnology systems. Other systems which may be accessed by the meteringand tariffing application 118 include human resource (H/R) systems. AnERP system may be any system (including without limitation an accountsreceivable, accounts payable, partnering, and vendor management system)that contains information the metering and tariffing application 118 mayuse to help apportion operations of the smart device 102 betweenpurposes including work and personal purposes.

The personal cloud 144 comprises publicly available web services, socialmedia services, and social networking services such as FACEBOOK™,LINKEDIN™, GMAIL™, TWITTER™, TUMBLR, HOTMAIL™, YAHOO MAIL™, GOOGLEDOCS™, OFFICE 365™, INSTAGRAM™, VIBER™, LINE™, MYSPACE™, and WHATSAPP™.The smart device's 102 user may have personal accounts, comprisingpersonal information, with services provided via the personal cloud 144.

The metering and tariffing application 118 may be controlled through apresentation environment 146. The presentation environment 146 may alsoallow users to view operation information associated with their smartdevice 102 and related costs for personal and work purposes. Thepresentation environment 146 may be the smart device 102 itself. Thepresentation environment 146 may also allow viewing of standardized andcustomized reports.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of a method 200 for determining work andpersonal costs associated with the operations of a smart device with thesystem of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The monitoring application 108 logs or records one or moreoperations of the smart device 102 as operation information 202. Theoperation information is communicated 204 to the metering and tariffingapplication 118. The metering and tariffing application 118 applies aseries of rules to the operation information to apportion 206 theoperation into a selected purpose from one or more purposes (alsoreferred to as a plurality of purposes). In effect, apportioning thepurpose involves classifying the corresponding operation information ina particular group which relates to the apportioned purpose. Theplurality of purposes may be a work purpose and a personal purpose. Oneof the plurality of purposes may be a “to-be-decided” or uncategorizedpurpose. The operation may be apportioned based on the operationinformation and categorization information. The metering and tariffingapplication 118 then combines the operation information with tariffinformation for calculating the monetary cost of the apportionedoperation 208. The metering and tariffing application 118 may sum thecosts of all operations apportioned to the same purpose and provide asummary for each purpose. The sum of the costs of all operationsapportioned to the same purposes are reported 210 for each of thepurposes.

Operation Information. During the step of recording operationinformation 202 about an operation performed by the smart device 102,the monitoring application 108 may record the configuration of the smartdevice 102, information relating to communications between the smartdevice 102 and network operators 120, the type of each operation, thetype of each communication, the channel of each communication, theamount of each communication, the contents of each communication, therecipients and initiators of each communication, and where the smartdevice 102 was located at the time of the communication. What operationinformation is collected depends, in part, on the types of operationswhich are to be apportioned. The types of operations include, withoutlimitation, cellular voice call operations, SMS/MMS text messageoperations, data consumption from website browsing operations, dataconsumption from applications operations, data consumption from usingvoice recognition application operations, data consumption from mappingapplication operations, data consumption from tethering operations, dataconsumption from VOIP application operations, data consumption fromemail operations, and purchasing operations.

For example, operation information may comprise the amount of time spenton a voice call, the outgoing or incoming telephone number of the voicecall, and the contact information associated with the voice call; theamount of data sent and received while browsing a webpage and the URL ofthat webpage; the times when the smart device 102 had cellular networkconnectivity. WiFi connectivity. Bluetooth connectivity, and tetheringconnectivity; LAC codes when there was cellular network connectivity;and GPS coordinates when there is a change in connectivity.

Each of the types of operations, for which operation information may becollected by the monitoring application 108, is further described below.

Initialization of the Monitoring Application. In an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, upon installation of the monitoring application 108on the smart device 102 or on a periodic basis thereafter, themonitoring application 108 collects or records and provides operationinformation about the smart device 102 to the metering and tariffingapplication 118. The operation information may be stored by the meteringand tariffing application 118 in a device database (as described belowin relation to FIG. 3).

Operation information may comprise the smart device's 102 phone number,the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, thecountry code of the smart device 102, the area code of the smart device102, the serial number of the smart device 102, and the cellular networkoperator associated with the smart device 102. The information may beretrieved from the smart device's 102 SIM card. This information mayassist with determining whether the smart device 102 is roaming.

The metering and tariffing application 118 may also collectcategorization information from the smart device 102 upon installationsor thereafter on a periodic basis Categorization information comprises,for example, contacts and applications (and associated internet protocol(IP) addresses). That categorization information may be categorized orclassified manually and automatically as relating to a work purpose or apersonal purpose as further described below in relation to FIG. 3. Themonitoring application 108 may also present the user of the smart device102 with a list of their contacts and applications for categorization orconfirmation of the categories assigned by the metering and tariffingapplication 118. If a contact or application was incorrectly categorizedor not categorized, the user may select the appropriate category whichcauses the monitoring application 108 to update the list of contacts andapplications maintained by the metering and tariffing application 118.

Upon installation or on a periodic basis, the monitoring application 108may also ask the user of the smart device 102 to classify the currentlocation of the smart device as either a work location, a home location,or an other location. If the user identifies the location as “other,”the monitoring application 108 may continue to prompt the user on aperiodic basis to identify their current location until the user hasselected at least one location as a work location and another locationas a home location. When a user selects a work location or a homelocation, the monitoring application 108 records the current local areacode (LAC) of the smart device 102, and the global positioning system(GPS) coordinates of the smart device 102. If the user selects work orhome, the user may also be prompted to input work or home WiFiinformation, if available, including SSID, encryption type, password,and user identification. If information concerning a WiFi hotspot orbase station is provided by the user, and WiFi is available, themonitoring application 108 disables the cellular data connection,enables the WiFi connection, and logs onto the WiFi hotspot. Themonitoring application 108 monitors the LAC and the WiFi connection andwhen a change occurs, the cellular data connection is re-enabled andWiFi is disabled. Disabling the cellular data connection when the WiFiis available helps route data traffic through the WiFi connection toreduce monetary costs and power consumption costs which in-turn helps topreserve the smart device's 102 battery life.

Connectivity Status. Operations information may also comprise theconnectivity status of the smart device 102 including, withoutlimitation, cellular network connectivity, WiFi connectivity. Bluetoothconnectivity, and tethering connectivity. When a smart device 102registers with a cellular network, that event or operation may berecorded, along with the: LAC Cods; Cellular Operator Name; Time and/orDate of the event first starting (beginning state); GPS coordinates, ifthe GPS functionality may be turned on and/or available. When a cellularnetwork changes and/or there may no longer be any cellular connectivity,the time and/or date of the event may be recorded (end state). When asmart device 102 registers with a WiFi network, that event may berecorded along with: LAC Code; Cellular Operator Name; WiFi SSID; WiFiMAC Address; Device IP Address; DNS and/or Other related information;Time and/or Date of the event first starting (beginning state); GPScoordinates if the GPS functionality may be turned on and/or available.When a WiFi network changes or there is no longer any WiFi connectivity,the time and/or date of the event may recoded logged (end state). When asmart device 102 connects to a Bluetooth device, that event may berecorded along with: LAC Code; Cellular Operator Name; WiFi SSID; WiFiMAC Address; Smart device 120 IP Address; DNS and/or Other relatedinformation; Time and/or Date of the event first starting (beginningstate); GPS coordinates if the GPS functionality may be turned on and/oravailable. When Bluetooth connectivity changes and/or there may nolonger be any Bluetooth connectivity, the time and/or date of the eventmay be also recorded (end state).

Apportioning Operations. The metering and tariffing application 118 maybe provisioned or configured with one or more rules. Rules provide theautomated process by which the metering and tariffing application 118apportions or classifies smart device 102 operations to purposes such aspersonal and work purposes. Without rules, it would be too difficult,onerous, and slow to manually review operation information and apportionsmart device operations 102 between purposes. Rules may be applied toall smart devices 102.

The following are examples of potential rules which a metering andtariffing application may apply: All operations comprising emails fromor to a “hotmail.com” domain are apportioned to a personal purpose. Allcontacts comprising emails have a “hotmail.com” domain are categorizedto a personal purpose. All contacts in any ERP/enterprise IT System arecategorized to a work purpose. Applications of a certain type may all becategorized for either a work or a personal purpose. All operationscomprising emails from a corporate address book are apportioned to awork purpose. All contacts obtained from a corporate address book arecategorized to a work purpose. Any contact that has a domain associatedwith a publicly provided email system is categorized as a personalpurpose. Any domain that corresponds to any contact within theERP/Enterprise IT system is categorized as a work purpose. Specificwebsites of a specific user or smart device 102 may be categorized aswork or a personal purpose. Specific websites of users of the samedepartment may be categorized as either a work or a personal purpose.Users may have a list of phone numbers which normally would becategorized as personal but, when travelling for work, are categorizedas for a work purpose. Certain apps which would otherwise be categorizedas for a personal purpose are categorized as for a work purpose when theuser is travelling for work (e.g. SKYPE™). An employee is reimbursementfor use of home WiFi for work purposes. If certain operations cannot beautomatically apportioned, the operation is deemed personal untildesignated otherwise by the user to encourage users to self-police anduse the system.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a metering and tariffing application 300 inaccordance with an embodiment of the metering and tariffing application118 shown in the system 100 of FIG. 1. The metering and tariffingapplication 300 comprises a contact manager 302, a bill generatingsystem 304, and a reporting engine 306. The metering and tariffingapplication 300 maintains a number of databases containingcategorization information to assist with automatically apportioningoperations between work and personal purposes based on the operationinformation. The categorization information is received from a number ofsources including the enterprise IT environment 126 and the personalcloud 144. The categorization information is processed and retained inthe databases. The categorization information is combined with the rulesto apportion operations using the corresponding operation information.The databases may reside in the memory 112 of the computer 100 or in thestorage environment 116. The databases may comprise a contact database308, an application database 310, a device database 312, a websitedatabase 314, and a purchase database 316.

The contact manager 302 maintains the contact database 308. This contactdatabase 308 comprises contact information which is unique for each useror each smart device 102. The contact information in the contactdatabase 308 for any user or smart device 102 may also be accessible oravailable to the monitoring application 108 of any other smart devices102 which are part of the system 100, and may also be available toservers and systems in the enterprise IT environment 124. In this way,the contact information of a user or smart device 102 may be used tohelp apportion the operations of another smart device 102. The contactsdatabase 308 comprises the names of organizations and individuals withwhom the company and the user of the smart device 102 each has arelationship and associated details including, without limitation, theirtelephone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, home postal addresses,work postal addresses, any other mode of contact, the location or sourcefrom which that contact information was obtained, and a designatingindicating whether the contact information is either relating to a workpurpose or a personal purpose. The designation may apply to anindividual contact or contacts from the same company, or may be forspecific modes of contact for an individual or company such as bytelephone number or by email address.

Contact information is collected or received by the contact manager 302and stored in the contacts database 308. The contact manger 302 maycollect contact information initially when a smart device 102 is addedto the system 100 or when the monitoring application 108 is installed onthe smart device 102 as further described above. The contact manager 302may also collect or re-collect contact information on a continuous orperiodic basis, or when the contact information changes on any sourcefrom which it is collected. The contact manager 302 may also maintain ahistory of all changes to contact information occurring on the smartdevice 102 and within the enterprise IT environment 12, includingchanges between work and personal purposes categories. The contactmanager 302 also filters or categorizes each of the contacts into eitherwork, personal, or unknown purposes. Contact information can also befiltered or categorized manually into work or personal by the user ofthe smart device 102 or any other person such as a system administrator.The contact information may be collected or received by the contactmanager 302 from various locations or sources including the smart device102, the enterprise IT environment 126, the personal cloud 144, andother websites including regulatory agencies that designate a telephonenumber as either corresponding to a mobile device or fixed line using aprefix system or equivalent. The contact manager 302 may obtain thecontact information by various means including through APIs. The contactmanager 302 may also scrape contact information from webpages if an APIis not available.

The locations from where contact information may be received orretrieved (as referred to as obtained) from the enterprise ITenvironment 126 include, without limitation, email systems, LDAPservers, CRM servers, telephone & UC systems, payroll & expensemanagement systems, employee benefits systems, corporate PBX system,Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) systems. Locations from wherecontact information may be obtained from the person cloud 144 includeVOIP clients such as SKYPE™, social network websites such as FACEBOOK™,professional networking websites such as LINKEDIN™, email services suchas GMAIL™, and applications installed or accessed by the smart device102.

When contact information is obtained from the personal cloud 144, thecontact manager 302 may apply a rule, if so provisioned, thatcategorizes each contact therein as relating to a personal purposeunless the contacts are received from LINKEDIN™ or a similarprofessional networking service in which case the contacts arecategorized as relating to a work purpose. When contact information isreceived from the enterprise IT environment 126, the contact manager 302may apply a rules, if so provisioned, that categorizes each of thecontacts as relating to a work purpose. Contact information receivedfrom the smart device 102 may be from the address book or the SIM card.

Rather than categorize an entire contact as either relating to a work orpersonal purpose, the contact manager 302 applies a rule, if soprovisioned, which categorizes each mode of contact for the contact(such as phone numbers). Contacts may also be automatically designatedor categorized as personal by the contact manager 302 if they have apersonal cloud email address such as, for example “@hotmail.com”. Thecontact manager 302 may also categorize certain contacts, includingthose with an email address in the corporate email system and stored onthe smart device 102 or elsewhere, that do not match any of the emailaddresses stored in a contact in the examples given above.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the contactmanager 302 may, if provisioned with the rule, learn how to moreaccurately categorize contact information as work and personal. Eachtime contact information is collected, the contact manager 302determines whether the contact information (such as telephone number,email address, etc.), already exists in the contacts database 308. Ifthe contact information exists, then the category already assigned tothe contact information in the contacts database 308 is compared to thecategory to be assigned to the contact information by the contactmanager 302 based on its source. If the categorizations match, then acounter specific to that contact information is incremented. If anycounter reaches a threshold number, then the categorization of thatcontact information is deemed to be verified. Unless manually by-passed,the contact manager 302 does automatically re-categorize thecategorization of verified contact information. Unverified contactinformation, however, may be re-categorized by the contact manager 302if it determines that a category, different than the one indicated inthe contacts database 308, should be applied to certain contactinformation. This allows the contact manager 302 to learn how to moreaccurately categorize contact information based on the categorizationsof the same contact information by other users of the system 100.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, themetering and tariffing application 300 may monitor the number of times aparticular phone number is dialed, a phone number is text messaged, anemail address is emailed, a website is visited, and an application isdownloaded across all smart devices 102 that are part of the system 100.When the number of times reaches a threshold number, the associatedphone number, email address, website and application is automaticallydesignated as work and the metering and tariffing application 118 sendsa notification that the threshold has been met. The automaticdesignation may then be accepted or rejected by, for example, a systemadministrator.

The monitoring application 108 may comprise an email plug-in thatpermits it to access the email client's address book on the smart device102 so as to automatically synchronize the contacts in the smartdevice's 102 address book, the email client's address book, andenterprise IT environment 126 using the contacts database 308 managed bythe contact manager 302.

The metering and tariffing application 300 uses the work and personalcategories assigned to contact information in the contact database 308to help automatically apportion certain smart device 102 operationsbetween work and personal purposes, and to determine the amount ormonetary value of personal and work purposes of the smart device 102.Contact information may be used to apportion at least the followingtypes of smart device uses: cellular voice, SMS and MMS text messages,data use from accessing websites, data use from VOIP, data use frommapping, data use from certain voice recognition functions, and data usefrom sending and receiving emails. Other smart device operations mayneed to be apportioned into work and personal based on information otherthan contact information. Other smart device operations include, withoutlimitation, data use from applications, data use from voice recognitionfunctionality, data use from tethering other devices to the smart device102, data use from purchases made with the smart device 102, chargesincurred as a result of purchases made with the smart device 102.

Calculating Operation Costs. During the step of calculating operationcosts 208, the metering and tariffing application 118 uses tariffinformation, in combination with the operation information, to determineor calculate the costs for each operation or all operations collectivelyfor each of the apportioned purposes. A tariff is a set of contractualterms or rules describing, generally, how a carrier or network operatorwill charge for the consumption of data, voice, and text by one or moresmart devices using the carrier's network or channels of communication.Tariffs may exist for any method of communication such as, for example,cellular, high speed internet, fixed line and WiFi methods ofcommunication. In an embodiment, the metering and tariffing application118 combines operation information about the smart device 102 withtariff information to determine the monetary cost of each of thepurposes of the apportioned operations of the smart device 102. Byputting a monetary value on smart device 102 operations, the user may bereimbursed for work operation of a personal smart device, or mayreimburse for personal operation of a work smart device. Tariffs may beinput into the application 108 on the smart device 102 or in themetering and tariffing application 118 on the computer 110 through thepresentation environment 146. Tariff information consists of generalcost information such as, for example, a voice call rate per second orminute in a period; SMS or message rate per number of messages sent andreceived in a period; and data rate measured by the number of bytes ormegabytes of data sent and received in a period. The rates may differbased upon the location of the smart device, the location of the otherdevice with which the smart device is communicating, whether the voicecall is outgoing or incoming, whether messages and data are being sentor received. Different rates for voice calls may exist for inbound andoutbound calls for each of domestic, international, roaming, and longdistance calls. Different rates for data and SMS messages may exist fordata sent and received locally, nationally, internationally, and whileroaming. Tariff information may also include the amount the user paidfor the smart device 102, the number of periods in the users carriercontract, base periodic costs (e.g. monthly costs) paid by the user tothe carrier for the use of that smart device 102 on the carrier'snetwork. The metering and tariffing application 118 combines tariffinformation with smart device operation information to determineoperation costs. For example, the metering and tariffing application 118would know, based on one or more of the SIM status, the cellularoperator name that the device was on, and the LAC and GPS coordinates,whether the smart device 102 was roaming at the time of making a voicecall, sending or receiving a text message, or sending or receiving data.If the metering and tariffing application 118 determines that the smartdevice 102 was roaming, the metering and tariffing application 118 woulddetermine the cost based on the corresponding tariff for roaming. Tariffinformation may also describe a carrier's terms for use of a specificapplication, and visits to a specific websites. Network operators or thedesignees may also permit data traffic associated with a website orapplication to be “free” so as not to count towards monthly dataconsumption allotments, if any. The metering and tariffing application118 may be provisioned with tariff information setting out the amountsor costs for which a network operator 120 charges for certain uses ofthe smart device 102.

Billing and Reporting. Once the operations are apportioned and costsdetermined, the bill generating system 304 combines or aggregates usageand cost information together. The bill generating system 304 may firstcalculate the personal and work consumption associated with the smartdevice 102 for a period corresponding with the billing period for thetariff. The personal and work consumption may then be used to calculatethe actual monetary cost of personal and work purposes for the billingperiod and generate a bill for the user. The bill and the underlyingconsumption calculations may be accessible via the presentationenvironment 146, and may be emailed to the user for expense submissions.In an embodiment, only operations and cost that have been apportioned towork is reported so as to help protect the user's privacy. The billgenerating system may also allow for automated expense management byautomatically providing the calculated costs to ERP systems such as H/R,payroll and expense management systems. The monetary cost of thepersonal or work operations may then be incorporated into expensesubmission or payroll systems.

There are various method through which tariff information may becombined with operation information to calculate the costs associatedwith operation of the smart device. The way in which the information iscombined depends upon the tariffs described by the tariff information.For example, there may be a tariff for cellular voice calls. The tariffmay provide for a monthly fee for a certain number of free daytimeminutes, and a per minute fee for each daytime voice minute consumedbeyond the number of free daytime minutes. There may also be apportionedoperation information describing the number of daytime minutes consumedfor work and personal purposes beyond the number of free daytimeminutes. In an embodiment, the metering and tariffing application 118determines the cost of the operations for each of the purposes bydividing the fixed monthly fee according to the ratio of me number offree daytime minutes consumed for work purposes and of the number offree daytime minutes consumed for personal purposes, and adding to eachresult the costs of the per minute price for overage minutes multipliedby the number of overage minutes for each purpose. The way in whichtariff information is combined with operation information may beprovisioned into the metering and tariffing application 118.

The reporting engine 306 produces reports (including operations andcost) of one or more smart devices 102 in communication with themetering and tariffing application 118. The reports may show informationfrom call logs, SMS logs, email logs, application logs, website logs,etc., including consumption and operations activity apportioned betweenpersonal and work purposes. The reports may be for one smart device 102or an aggregate of multiple smart devices 102 and may be broken out byusage type, department, function, and by P&L. The reports may becustomized.

The bill generation system and reporting engine automatically costssmart device 102 operations. If an employee is owed money by theiremployer for a personal smart device, the amount associated with theaggregate work operations for the billing period is calculated. Throughintegration with the Expense Management/Payroll systems the employee isautomatically reimbursed for any amount that is due. In the event thatthe employer wishes to claw back for personal operations, this amount isdeducted from the next payroll/expense submission automatically

Cellular Voice Call Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, cellular voice call operations are apportionedbetween personal and work purposes using contact information containedin the contact database 308. The monitoring application 108 obtainsoperation information associated with voice calls from, for example, anAPI, or the call history or call log maintained by the smart device 102,cellular voice call operation information may include call duration, thephone number associated with a call, the contact associated with a call,the time and date of a call, and the LAC code, cellular network name,and GPS coordinates of the smart device 102 at the time of the call.Cellular voice call operation information is sent to the metering andtariffing application 118 which cross-references to contact informationin the contacts database 308 to attempt to determine whether a call wasfor personal or work purposes depending on how the correspondingcontact, or phono number is categorized in the database by the contactmanager 302. If the call can be automatically apportioned, the meteringand tariffing application 118 allocates the duration of the cellularvoice call operation to the corresponding purpose. In effect, thelocation from which contact information is received is used to determinewhether to allocate a particular voice call operation to a work orpersonal purpose. If the contact information location is associated withwork such as, for example, a system or server in the enterprise ITenvironment 126, then a cellular voice call operation corresponding tothat contact information is categorized by the metering and tariffingapplication 118 as work. By contrast, if the location from which thecontact information was received is from a system or server or servicein the personal cloud 144 (except a professional networking services),then a cellular voice call corresponding to that contact information isapportioned to a personal purpose. If the contact is associated withwork or personal, then a call corresponding to that contact informationis apportioned by the metering and tariffing application 118 as work orpersonal, respectively. If the phone number or contact associated withthe call operation information cannot be located within the contactsdatabase 308, the metering and tariffing application 118 may cause themonitoring application 108 to prompt the user to categorize the call aseither for a work or personal purpose, or associated the call with anexisting contact in the contacts database 308. The monitoringapplication 108 may also prompt the user to create a new contact basedon the call information. If a new contact is created, that contactinformation may then be saved to the contacts database 308 so as to beavailable to all smart devices 102 in the system 100 to assist withautomatically categorizing smart device use. If the monitoringapplication 108 cannot access the call history or log on the smartdevice 102, the monitoring application 108 may monitor the hardwareand/or software APIs associated with the telephony stack on the smartdevice 102. When a call occurs, the change in the state of the hardwareand software is recorded and associated with the call. The monitoringapplication 108 may then time the duration of the call. The monitoringapplication 108 records the duration of the call, the date of the call,and the phone number associated with the call and provides thisinformation to the metering and tariffing application 108 forapportionment in accordance with the process described above.

Text Message Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, SMS and MMS text message operations are apportioned betweenpersonal and work purposes. Similar to apportioning cellular voicecalls, the monitoring application 108 obtains information associatedwith text messages sent and received by the smart device 102. The textmessage operation information may be received from an API or textmessage history or log. The text message operation information comprisesthe time and date of the message, the length of the message, the phonenumber associated with the message, the contact associated with themessage if any, the LAC code, cellular network name, and GPS coordinatesof the smart device 102 at the time of sending or receiving the messageto determine whether the smart device 102 was roaming. The text messageoperation information is sent to the metering and tariffing application118 which cross-references to categorization information, such ascontact information in the contacts database 308, to attempt todetermine whether the text message operation was for personal or workpurpose depending on how the corresponding contact or phone number iscategorized in the database. If the text message operation can beautomatically apportioned, the metering and tariffing application 118allocates the text message operation to the corresponding purpose. Ifthe text message cannot be apportioned or categorized because the phonenumber or contact cannot be located within the contacts database 308,the metering and tariffing application 118 may cause the monitoringapplication 108 to prompt the user to categorize the text messageoperation as either for a work or a personal purpose, or associate thetext message with an existing contact in the contacts database 308. Themonitoring application 108 may also prompt the user to create a newcontact based on the text message operation information. If a newcontact is created, the contact information (including the first andlast name of the sender or recipient of the text message, the companyname, and the phone number) is saved to the contacts database 308 so asto be available to all smart devices 102 in the system 100 to assistwith automatically categorizing all other smart device operations. Ifthe monitoring application 108 cannot access the text message history orlog on the smart device 102, the monitoring application 108 may monitorthe hardware and/or software APIs associated with the telephony stack onthe smart device 102. When a text message operation occurs, a change inthe state of the hardware and software is recorded and associated withthe text message activity. The monitoring application 108 may thencreate a log comprising the number of text messages sent and received,the length of the text messages, the date and time the text messageswere sent or received, and the phone numbers associated with the textmessages and other related text message information.

Web Site Browsing Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the amount of data traffic resulting from a websitebrowsing operation using a smart device 102 is apportioned between workpurposes and personal purposes. The monitoring application 108 obtainsoperation information associated with browsing websites, such as theamount of data traffic sent and received by the smart device 102 throughWiFi, Bluetooth, tethering, and a cellular connection, the IP addressand/or domain name of the websites being visited, and URL (via anoperating system or web browser API) of a website being visited, thestatus of the cellular data connection of the smart device (includingwhether the smart device 102 is roaming), the associated LAC, the statusof the WiFi data connection, and the MAC address of a connected WiFirouter. The monitoring application 108 sends the browsing operationinformation to the metering and tariffing application 118 whichcross-references with contact information in the contacts database 308and website information in a website database 314 to attempt todetermine whether the websites being visited were for personal or workpurposes. The metering and tariffing application 118 may apportion thewebsite browsing operation according to the categorization of a contacthaving an email address with the same domain name as the website. Forexample, the contact manager may import “jon.doe@abc.com” as a customerfrom the CRM system and designate as a work contact. Website browsingoperations associated with visits to the “abc.com” website would,accordingly, be designated as a work purpose. Website browsingoperations associated with visits to corporate, affiliate, supplier,partner, and customers intranet and internet web sites may also becategorized as for work purposes. Each user may also have a customizedlist of work and personal webpages, which may be manually categorized aswork or personal, and stored in the website database 314. For example, amarketing executive may need to monitor the www.facebook.com website forwork related marketing metrics and, accordingly, operations associatedwith this browsing this website would be categorized as a work purposerather than personal purpose. If neither the smart device's 102operating system nor web browser has an API, then the monitoringapplication 108 records the times when the web browser was opened andclosed. The monitoring application 108 or the metering and tariffingapplication 118 can then subtract the smart device's 102 dataconsumption resulting from all other sources to determine the dataconsumption of the web browser during the period it was open. Othersources of data consumption include applications residing on the smartdevice 102, the operating system, mapping software, voice recognitionsoftware, and hardware elements which cause data traffic. In anembodiment, the monitoring application 108 asks the user to designate orcategorize a recently visited website as either for personal or workpurposes if it hasn't already been automatically categorized by themetering and tariffing application 118 or manually categorized by theuser or an administrator of the system 100. If the smart device's 102internet traffic is filtered by a proxy server or gateway server, themetering and tariffing application 118 may record the MAC Address, theIP Address, and any other information that may be required to identifythe user of the smart device 102. This information may then be comparedagainst the Website databases 314 to assign an activity to a specificsmart device 102 which is tied to the corresponding user. The amount oftraffic passing from or to the smart device 102 through the proxy orgateway server may be recorded and time stamped along with the IPaddress with which the smart device 102 is communicating to determine iftraffic should be apportioned to the work or personal category.

Application Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, data traffic resulting from application operations isapportioned between work purposes and personal purposes. Applicationsinclude, without limitation, the operating system of the smart device102 and any application built into the operation system, nativeapplications pre-loaded on the smart device 102 prior to the time ofsale to the user, and applications installed on the smart device 102 bya user. Applications may perform certain operations on the smart device102 (application operations) which may result in the smart device 102consuming data. For example, applications such as the smart device 102operating system may periodically ping or be pinged by the operatingsystem manufacturer or an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) fordevice updates such as new versions of the operating system, patches,and bug fixes. Both pinging and receiving the update may cause the smartdevice 102 to consume data. For example, the iOS™ operating system isprovided with updates from its manufacturer, APPLE™. The operatingsystem may also communicate with cloud-based servers to provide certainfunctionality. The monitoring application 108 records applicationinformation including, without limitation, the amount of data trafficconsumed by each application, the method of communication such ascellular network or WiFi, the port on which each applicationcommunicates, application names, application publisher names,application versions, application unique codes provided by the portalthrough which applications have been made available (such as ITUNES™,GOOGLE PLAY™, and WINDOWS MARKETPLACE™), the IP addresses required bythe applications and whether the IP addresses are external or internalto the enterprise IT environment 126, the type or category of theapplications, what portion of the data was inbound and outbound, whetherthe smart device 102 was roaming, the associated LAC, the WiFi dataconnection status, and the associated MAC address of a WiFi router, ifany. The unique code may be provided by the operation system providerfor which the application is written. Categories or types ofapplications including VOIP, CRM, travel, etc. The monitoringapplication 108 sends the application information to the metering andtariffing application 118 which apportions data traffic generated byapplications as work and personal. The metering and tariffingapplication 118 may maintain an application database 310 for each smartdevice 102 or user containing applications information including thecategory of each application. The metering and tariffing application 118cross-references the application information with the applicationsdatabase 310 to help automatically apportion data traffic generated byapplication as work and personal. Applications listed in theapplications database 310 may be categorized as work or personalaccording to where it is published. If an application was purchased orbuilt for work purposes, the application may be designated as work andany data traffic associated with that application would, accordingly, becategorized as work. An application may be designated as work if theapplication was made available via an enterprise application store. Whenan application is first Installed on the smart device 102, themonitoring application 108 may determine whether the application isdesignated as work or personal using the application database 310. Ifthe application is designated as personal, the monitoring application108 may notify the user that they are responsible for costs resultingfrom the use of the application. If the application is not listed in theapplications database 310, the user is asked by the monitoringapplication 108 to categorize the application as either for a work or apersonal purpose. Applications such as the operating system may becategorized by the administrator as work or personal. The category ofthe application may then be recorded in the applications database 310 soas to be available to all smart devices 102 in the system 100 to assistwith automatically categorizing application use.

If neither the smart device's 102 operating system nor application whichis to be monitored has an API, then the monitoring application 108records the times when the application was opened and closed. Themonitoring application 108 or the metering and tariffing application 118can then subtract the smart device's 102 data consumption resulting fromall other sources to determine the data consumption of the applicationduring the period it was open. Other sources of data consumption includeother applications residing on the smart device 102, the operatingsystem, mapping software, voice recognition software, and hardwareelements which cause data traffic. In an embodiment, the monitoringapplication 108 asks the user to designate or categorize an applicationas either for personal or work purposes. The amount of data flowingfrom/to the smart device 102 through the proxy may be captured and/ortime and/or date stamped. The IP address may be compared to theEnterprise App Databases, and/or the captured information then put underthe Work category. Logging of activity may also occur on theProxy/Gateway Server. The application may send/receive data traffic fromthe originator/manufacturer of the application. Additional and/oralternate inbound/outbound data traffic may be generated fromsub-component functions within the application including IP traffic fromoperating system vendor, advertising engines that send advertisements tothe application, and the storefront from which the application waspurchased.

Applications sometimes passively, without user action, performoperations which generate data traffic. For example, social networkingapplications may automatically download status updates. In anembodiment, the data traffic is apportioned according to how theapplication has been categorized. In another embodiment, where variouscontacts associated with the social networking application have alreadybeen categorized as personal or work, data traffic associated with eachof the contacts can be apportioned to personal or work. Data trafficassociated with updating the operating system may also occur. That datatraffic can be automatically be apportioned to work, personal, or bothwork and personal in accordance with a weighted average or any othermethodology determined or rules set by an administrator.

Voice Recognition Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the amount of data traffic resulting from voicerecognition application operations is apportioned between personal andwork purposes. Voice recognition applications may be built into theoperating system of the smart device 102 or into another application onthe smart device 102, or may be stand-alone applications residing on thesmart device 102. Voice recognition applications may include, forexample, SIRI™ on iOS™. Data traffic generated by voice recognitionapplication operations may be apportioned into personal and workcategories similar to data traffic generated by application operations,generally, as described herein. In an embodiment, all data trafficgenerated by voice recognition application operations is apportioned towork use when the user is traveling, for work purposes, with the smartdevice 102. This is to encourage the user to use voice recognitionsoftware when, for example, they are driving to promote user safety.Voice recognition application may sometime be required by the user torecognize a voice command associated with a contact. For example, thevoice command may be given by the user to call, send a SMS message, orsend an email to a contact, a phone number, or an email address. A voicecommand may be given by a user to read a text message or email from acontact. A user may also use voice recognition to dictate a message tobe sent to a contact via text message or email. In these cases, contactinformation stored in the contacts database 308 may be used to apportionthe data traffic associated with the voice commands to either work orpersonal. In an embodiment, the monitoring application 108 recordsoperation information associated with a voice command. The voice commandoperation information may comprise contact information, and the amountof data associated with the voice command. The monitoring application108 sends the voice command information to the metering and tariffingapplication 118 which cross-references the contact information with thecontacts database 308 to help automatically apportion the data trafficbetween personal and work purposes. In an embodiment, if no contactinformation is contained within the voice command operation information,the user is prompted to categorize the voice recognition data traffic aseither work or personal.

Mapping Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, data traffic generated by a mapping application operation isapportioned between personal and work operations. Mapping applicationsmay be built into the operating system of the smart device 102 or intoanother application on the smart device 102, or may be stand aloneapplications residing on the smart device 102. Mapping applications mayinclude, for example, NOKIA MAPS™ for iOS™. Data traffic generated bymapping applications may be apportioned between personal and workcategories similar to any other data traffic generated by any otherapplication as described herein. In an embodiment, all data trafficgenerated by mapping applications is apportioned to work use when theuser is traveling, for work purposes, with the smart device 102. Mappingapplications may sometime be required to map a location associated witha contact. For example, the user may request the mapping application toprovide directions to a contact's home address or work address. Thecontact information may, accordingly, be used to apportion the datatraffic associated with the mapping application to either work orpersonal. In an embodiment, the monitoring application 108 recordsoperation information associated with a mapping application operation.The mapping operation information may comprise contact information, andthe amount of data associated with mapping addresses. The monitoringapplication 108 may also access mapping applications through APIs toextract addresses that may have been entered. Those addresses areassociated with a certain amount of data traffic resulting from theirmapping. The monitoring application 108 sends the mapping information tothe metering and tariffing application 118 which cross-references thecontact information or addresses with the contacts database 308 to helpautomatically apportion the data traffic between personal and workpurposes.

If the mapping data traffic cannot be apportioned or categorized becausethe address cannot be located within the contacts database 308, themetering and tariffing application 118 may cause the monitoringapplication 108 to prompt the user to categorize the address as eitherfor a work or a personal purpose, or associate the address with anexisting contact in the contacts database 308. The monitoringapplication 108 may also prompt the user to create a new contact basedon the mapping information. If a new contact is created, the mappinginformation is saved to the new contact in the contacts database 308 soas to be available to all smart devices 102 in the system 100 to assistwith automatically categorizing smart device use.

Tethering Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, data traffic generated as a result of tethering operations,namely, tethering a device to the smart device 102, is apportionedbetween personal and work operations. For example, a users spouse maytether their device to the smart device 102 while on vacation. Tetheringcan be accomplished by connecting the smart device 102 to another deviceby USB, WiFi, or Bluetooth. The monitoring application 108 record,through the smart device's 102 operating system APIs, a tethereddevice's name, MAC address, IP address, computer processing unitidentification, device name, data traffic operations, and data traffictimes. The monitoring application 108 sends the tethering information tothe metering and tariffing application 118 to help automaticallycategorize tethering data traffic as personal or work. The metering andtariffing application 118 may maintain a devices database 312. All datatraffic associated with tethered devices registered as personal devicesfor a user is apportioned to personal purposes. If the tethered deviceis not located in the devices database 312, the device is identified asa new device and the user is prompted to categorize the device as apersonal device or a work device. The device information, including theCPU ID, IMEI number, phone number, CCID number, serial number, and MAXnumber are saved to the devices database 312 by the metering andtariffing application 118 so that the monitoring application 108 on anyother smart device 102 may use the information.

VOIP Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, data traffic generated as a result of a voice over internetprotocol session operation including, but not limited, to videoconferencing, unified communications, and instant messaging, with thesmart device 102 is apportioned between personal and work operations.VOIP may be built into the operating system of the smart device 102 orinto another application on the smart device 102, or may be stand-aloneapplications residing on the smart device 102. A VOIP applications mayinclude, for example, SKYPE™ or FACE TIME™. Data traffic generated byVOIP may be apportioned between personal and work categories similar toany other data traffic generated by any other application as describedherein. A VOIP session may sometime occur with one or more persons whoare contact. The contact information may be cross-referenced by themetering and tariffing application 118 with the contacts database 208 toapportion data traffic associated with VOIP calls or sessions betweenwork and personal. In an embodiment, the monitoring application 108accesses a history or log of VOIP calls through APIs to extract calldetails such as duration, phone number, and contact information. ThatVOIP information is then used by the metering and tariffing application118 to apportion data traffic associated with the calls to personal orwork. If a VOIP call cannot be automatically categorized as work orpersonal, the monitoring application 108 prompts the user to associatethe call with a contact which has already been categorized, to create anew contact and categorize the contact, or to simply categorize the callas work or personal. Information manually entered by the user may besaved by the metering and tariffing application 118 to the contactsdatabase 308 for later use by a monitoring application 108 for alldevices 102 in the system 100.

Email Operations. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, data traffic generated as a result of email operations isapportioned between work and personal. The monitoring application 108may integrate, through APIs, with the personal and corporate emailclients on the smart device 102. The email clients may be one client ormultiple clients. For each email, the monitoring application 108determines the sender and recipient email addresses, the time the emailwas sent/received, the size of the email including attachments, and thesize of the email including attachments actually downloaded to the smartdevice 102. Email operations may be apportioned between personal andwork categories similar to any other operation by any other applicationas described herein. In an embodiment, the email addresses contained inan email are cross-referenced by the metering and Tariffing application118 to contact information in the contacts database 308 to categorizeddata traffic associated with email use as work or personal. If an emailcannot be automatically determined to be work or personal, themonitoring application 108 prompts the user to allocate the email aseither work or personal and the email addresses in the email are allthen categorized accordingly. Email operation Information manuallyentered by the user may be saved by the metering and tariffingapplication 118 to the contacts database 308 for use by all smarteddevices 102 that are part of the system 100 to assist with apportioningsmart device use between personal and work. In an embodiment, themetering and tariffing application 118 categorizes emails as either workor personal according to the domain part of the email address. Emailaddresses comprising a domain part which are publicly available such as“@hotmail.com” are categorized as personal. Email addresses comprising adomain part which is a corporate or private domain are categorized aswork. Email clients may also be designated as personal or work andcategorized accordingly. For example, GOOGLE™ provides a GMAIL™ clientfor the iPHONE™. All emails sent and received from the GMAIL client,accordingly, may be categorized by the metering and tariffingapplication 118 as work. All email send from and receives by each emailclient is monitored in aggregate and designated as either personal orwork in accordance with the rules provisioned in the metering andtariffing application 118. The metering and tariffing application 118may comprise an email client database for retaining a list of emailclients and their categories.

Purchase Operations. In addition to using a smart device 102 forcommunication, a user may also make purchases with the smart device 102(also referred to as purchase operations). For example, a user may usethe smart device's 102 near field communications (NFC) or radiofrequency identification (RFID) functionality to make a purchase from aretail store. In another example, the user may purchase an application,or make an in-application purchase, on their smart device 102. Thosepurchase may be charged back so as to appear on the network operatorinvoice or statement of amounts awing for the smart device 102. In anembodiment of the present disclosure, the monitoring application 108identifies when a purchase is being made using the smart device 102(also referred to as a purchase operation), collects the associatedoperation information, and communicates the operation information to themetering and tariffing application 118. The metering and tariffingapplication 118 then, using this operation information, determineswhether a user's purchase is for a work purpose or a personal purposebased on information such as the type of purchase, from whom thepurchase was made, when the purchase was made, and where the purchasewas made. In an embodiment, the monitoring application 108 detects apurchase mace using the smart device 102 by detecting data traffic withan IP address that typically corresponds with a purchase. In response todetecting a purchase operation, the monitoring application may promptthe user to categorize the purchase as either work or personal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for apportioning the costs of apurchase made with a smart device 102 between purposes in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure. When the smart device 102is used to make a purchase, that purchase may generate data traffic tobe categorized as either work or personal. The generated data trafficmay also be used, however, to automatically determine if the purchasebeing made is personal or work. In accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the monitoring application 108 detects 402 that theNFC or RFID functionality of the smart device 102 has been used. Upondetection, the monitoring application 108 records all data trafficactivity 404 occurring on the smart device 102 for a period of timebefore and after the use of the functionality. The period of time may be60 seconds. Information recorded may include the time of use and the IPaddresses of the other devices with which the smart device 102 iscommunicating. The IP addresses is compared or cross-referenced to IPaddresses maintained by the metering and tariffing application 118 todetermine if the data traffic and associated purchase should beapportioned 406 as work or personal. If the IP address has not yet beencategorized, the monitoring application 108 may prompt the user tocategorize the purchase as either work or personal. The monitoringapplication 108 may also prompt the user to specify the amount of thetransaction and other related information such as taxes. The meteringand tariffing application 118 then saves the IP information and selectedcategory to a purchase database 316 for use at a later time by the smartdevice 102 or other smart devices 102 in the system. In an embodiment,the monitoring application 108 and the metering and tariffingapplication 118 may have APIs for which other applications may use toaccess information and functionality.

The monitoring application 108 and the metering and tariffingapplication 118 may integrate with another party's billing system, suchas a network operator, so as to notify 408 the operator of purchasesmade on the smart device 102 that should be charged directly to the userof the smart device 102. Information that may be provided to the networkoperator includes the phone number of the smart device 102, IMEI numberof the smart device 102, the serial number of the smart device 102, thetime and date of the transaction, the roaming status, the name of theapplication or upgrade downloaded, if any, the version of theapplication, the name of the party from which the purchase was made, thecost of the transaction and any taxes. If the operator has an individualcontract with the user of the smart device 102, the monitoringapplication 108 may prompt the user for permission to integrate with theoperator.

In an embodiment, the monitoring application 108 may monitor the smartdevice 102 and automatically take certain actions to help reduce thesmart device's 102 communication costs.

Containers. The smart device 102 may comprise one or more containers(also referred to as dual personas) which prevents applications outsideof the container from accessing the applications inside the container.If applications are located within a container on the smart device 102to which the monitoring application 108 does not have access, themonitoring application 108 monitors the amount data traffic from and tothe container. Since a single container contains applications for eitherexclusively work purposes or exclusively personal purposes, but not forboth, all data traffic from and to the container can be apportioned tothe corresponding purpose without identifying the specific source of thedata traffic. If the monitoring application 108 has access to thecontainer or is located within the container, the monitoring application108 may monitor the smart device 102 operations. If an enterprisecontainer resides on the smart device 102, or the application does nothave an API, or all communication and activity information can't bedetermined for the application, the logged information may be comparedagainst a databases and the metering and tariffing application 118 mayassign the activity to the smart device 102 which is used by a user.

WiFi Switchover. Communication over a WiFi network is typically lesscostly both in monetary value and power consumption, than communicationover a cellular network. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, themonitoring application 108 causes the smart device 102 to automatically,without user involvement, log on to WiFi hotspots to help reducecommunication costs. The monitoring application 108 may record the LACof a cellular radio network used by the smart device 102, the GPScoordinates of the smart device 102, the name of the provider and nameof the retail outlet when the smart device 102 logs into a WiFi hotspotsuch as, for example, at the user's work or home locations. Themonitoring application 108 may then use this information toautomatically enable the smart devices 102 WiFi function and disable thecellular network function when the mobile device 102 is close to therecorded GPS coordinates or within the LAC. By enabling WiFi, logginginto the corresponding WiFi network, and disabling the cellular networkfunctions, this causes the smart device 102 to use the WiFi mode ofcommunication which may be the least costly. This may also help reducethe amount of power consumed by the smart device 102 so as to preservebattery life. When the smart device 102 loses WiFi connectivity, thecellular network function on the smart device 102 may then be enabled.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the monitoring application108 communicates WiFi information to the metering and tariffingapplication 118 so that it can be stored and shared with other smartdevices comprising a monitoring application 108 in communication withthe metering and tariffing application 118. In this way, a database ofglobal WiFi hotspots may be maintained by the metering and tariffingapplication 118. WiFi information may include, for example, WiFi NetworkName, Password, IP Address. Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS, DNSSuffix, MAC Address, LAC of the surrounding cellular network, and GPScoordinates.

Voice Call Interception. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the monitoring application 108 intercepts calls about to bemade for which there is a less expensive calling option, and places thecall using the less expensive calling option. For example, themonitoring application 108 may intercept long distance calls or calls tobe made while roaming and places the call using a long distance dialingcard, a toll-free number, VOIP call, or a local calling number. The lessexpensive options may vary depending on the telephone number beingcalled and the location of the smart device 102. Accordingly, it may notbe possible for a user to recall all possible less expensive callingoptions. It may also be difficult or inconvenient for a user to manuallyeffect a less expensive calling option. In an embodiment, if the cost ofa voice call may be reduced, the call is blocked, a note of the outboundcall is made, and a new voice calling session is created using the lessexpensive option. The less expensive calling option may requireinserting pauses using commas or some other symbol according to thelocation from where the call is being made. A global database of lessexpensive calling options may be maintained by the metering andtariffing application 118 and communicated to the monitoring application108 on all smart devices 102.

In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation, numerousdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the artthat these specific details are not required. In other instances,well-known electrical structures and circuits are shown in block diagramform in order not to obscure the understanding. For example, specificdetails are not provided as to whether the embodiments described hereinare implemented as a software routine, hardware circuit, firmware, or acombination thereof.

Embodiments of the disclosure can be represented as a computer programproduct stored in a machine-readable medium (also referred to as acomputer-readable medium, a processor-readable medium, or a computerusable medium having a computer-readable program code embodied therein).The machine-readable medium can be any suitable tangible, non-transitorymedium, including magnetic, optical, or electrical storage mediumincluding a diskette, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), memorydevice (volatile or non-volatile), or similar storage mechanism. Themachine-readable medium can contain various sets of instructions, codesequences, configuration information, or other data, which, whenexecuted, cause a processor to perform steps in a method according to anembodiment of the disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art wiltappreciate that other instructions and operations necessary to implementthe described implementations can also be stored on the machine-readablemedium. The instructions stored on the machine-readable medium can beexecuted by a processor or other suitable processing device, and caninterface with circuitry to perform the described tasks.

The above-described embodiments are intended to be examples only.Alterations, modifications and variations can be effected to theparticular embodiments by those of skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a processing unit; a memorystoring operation information concerning a plurality of operations thathad been performed on a smart device, the plurality of operationscorresponding to a plurality of purposes, each of the plurality ofoperations the result of prior use of the same network connection of anetwork of an operator by the smart device; and the memory storing ametering and tariffing application having been provisioned with aplurality of general rules prior to the plurality of operationsoccurring, the metering and tariffing application configured forexecution on the processing unit to automatically apportion theoperation information for the plurality of operations between theplurality of purposes based on the operation information in accordancewith the plurality of general rules.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe memory comprises categorization information, and wherein theplurality of rules requires the metering and tariffing application toapportion the operation information of the operations to the selectedpurposes based on the operation information corresponding to thecategorization information.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein themetering and tariffing application is configured to obtain thecategorization information from one or more applications.
 4. The systemof claim 2, wherein the metering and tariffing application is configuredto obtain the categorization information from a plurality of sources,and the rules require apportioning the operation information of theoperations between the purposes based on the sources of thecategorization information.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein themetering and tariffing application is provisioned with a first rule ofthe plurality of rules requiring apportionment of the operationinformation of the operations to a personal purpose in response to theircategorization information having been obtained from a cloud server. 6.The system of claim 4, wherein the metering and tariffing application isprovisioned with a first rule of the plurality of rules requiringapportionment of the operation information of the operations to a workpurpose in response to their categorization information being obtainedfrom an enterprise information technology environment.
 7. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the categorization information comprises contactinformation, the contact information comprising designations, andwherein the rules requires the metering and tariffing application toapportion the operation information of the operations to the purposes inresponse to the designations.
 8. The system of claim 2, wherein theoperation information comprises information relating to one or more ofthe following operations: a cellular voice call made or received by thesmart device, a text message sent or received by the smart device, dataconsumption from browsing a website with the smart device, network dataconsumption from using a third application on the smart device, networkdata consumption from using a voice recognition application on the smartdevice, network data consumption from using a mapping application on thesmart device, network data consumption from tethering another device tothe smart device, network data consumption from using a voice overinternet protocol application on the smart device, network dataconsumption from using an email application on the smart device, networkdata consumption from making a purchase with the smart device, thepurchase made with the smart device.
 9. The system of claim 8, whereinthe smart device comprises a near field communication device or a radiofrequency identification device, the metering and tariffing applicationis configured to detect use of the near field communication device orthe radio frequency identification device for a purchase operation, theoperation information for the purchase operation comprises an amount ofdata consumed as a result of the purchase operation, and a firstinternet protocol address with which the smart device was communicatingin response to the purchase operation; and the categorizationinformation comprises a list of internet protocol addresses and adesignated purpose for each internet protocol address, and wherein themetering and tariffing application is configured to apportion theoperation information of the purchase operation by setting the selectedpurpose to the designated purpose of a second internet protocol addressfrom among the list of internet protocol addresses which matches thefirst internet protocol address.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein themetering and tariffing application is configured to apportion one of theoperation information of the operations to the selected purpose fromamong the plurality of purposes comprising a work purpose and a personalpurpose, based on the operation information.
 11. The system of claim 1,wherein the metering and tariffing application is provisioned with afirst general rule of the plurality of general rules, the first generalrule requiring the operation information of the operations to beapportioned to a select purpose based on a domain of a contact of thecorresponding the operation information.
 12. The system of claim 1,wherein the metering and tariffing application is provisioned with afirst general rule of the plurality of general rules, the first generalrule requiring the operation information of the operations performed bya select application on the smart device to be apportioned to a selectpurpose from among the plurality of purposes according to the firstgeneral rule.
 13. A system, comprising a processing unit; a memoryaccessible by the processing unit, the memory storing operationinformation for a plurality of operations that had been performed on asmart device, the plurality of operations corresponding to a pluralityof purposes, each of the plurality of operations the result of prior useof the same network connection of a network of an operator; a meteringand tariffing application provisioned with a plurality of general rulesand configured to obtain categorization information from one or more ofan enterprise information technology environment and a cloud server; andthe metering and tariffing application for execution on the processingunit to automatically apportion the operation information for theplurality of operations between a plurality of purposes in accordancewith the rules and based on the categorization information.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein a first rule of the plurality of rulesrequires apportioning operation information to a first selected purposein response to the operation information corresponding to categorizationinformation obtained from the enterprise information technologyenvironment, and a second rule of the plurality of rules requiresapportioning operation information to a second selected purpose inresponse to the operation information corresponding to thecategorization information obtained from the cloud server.
 15. Aprocessor implemented method comprising: receiving a plurality ofgeneral rules; receiving tariffs of the operator; receiving operationinformation about a plurality of operations on a smart device whichoccurred after receiving the plurality of general rules, the pluralityof operations corresponding to a plurality of purposes, each of theplurality of operations the result of prior use of the same networkconnection of a network of an operator; and automatically apportioningthe operation information for the plurality of operations of the smartdevice to the plurality of purposes based on the operation informationaccording to the plurality of general rules.
 16. The method of claim 15,further comprising obtaining categorization information one or moresources, and wherein automatically apportioning the operationinformation of the operations is in accordance with the categorizationinformation.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the categorizationinformation is obtained from a plurality of sources, and the operationinformation of the operations are apportioned between the purposes inaccordance with the rules based on the sources of the categorizationinformation.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the operationinformation for first selected operations are apportioned to a firstselected purpose in response to the first selected operationscorresponding to categorization information obtained from an enterpriseinformation technology environment, and the operation information forsecond selected operations are apportioned to a second selected purposein response to the second selected operations corresponding tocategorization information obtained from a cloud server.
 19. The systemof claim 16, wherein the categorization information comprises contactinformation, the contact information comprising a designation indicatingto which of the plurality of purposes the contact information relates.20. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of purposes comprisesa work purpose and personal purpose.